Six quick questions that could change your health.

When I was in school for a degree in Ayurveda in the 1990s, I read a lot of ayurveda books. And I saw many questionnaires designed to help people determine their ayurvedic dosha or constitution. It seemed to me that every questionnaire was obsessed with things like the size and frequency of a person’s poops. While this is actually very useful information in ayurveda, I’ve found that the following six questions are even more effective both in nailing down a person’s vikrti (current constitution) and in determining recommendations for diet, exercise, and lifestyle to reduce stress, improve vitality, and achieve balance.

To determine your vikrti, or current ayurvedic constitution, answer the following six questions:

Now count the number of As, Bs, and C’s in your answers.

Vata is the energy of air; pitta is the energy of fire; and kapha is the energy or water and earth.

So a person with a constitution dominant in the vata dosha will often have airy qualities (creative, quick, possibly anxious and flatulent); a person with a constitution dominant in pitta will often have fiery qualities (intense, focused, possibly critical); and a person with a constitution dominant in kapha will often have earthy qualities (steadfast, grounded, possibly stuck).

In the next part of this article, we’ll discuss recommendations for each constitution. Stay tuned!

Thank you, Brian. I, too, have devised a simplified, more relevant to our modern world questionnaire, so I was curious to see yours. Curious to see what we each see in the science and in each other. In you, I see greatness, and a compassionate heart. Namaste!

"Expedient and convenient", that's become the American mantra for life. It is not the core of a Yogic life or Ayurvedic principles. Questionnaires are good tickling gimmicks for amateurs, but not sufficiently comprehensive for meaningful application or transformation. Ayurveda is a deeper study of mind, body, chemistry, physiology, psychology, and a person's total makeup. Good yoga and Ayurveda practices align spirit, actions, meditation, soul, peace, and harmony. These books and questionnaires must be seen as small markers or entertainment stops on a journey that's powered by self and affixes good karma in life. They cannot possibly encapsulate the wisdom attained by lifetimes of yogis and repackage in snippets. Read to be inspired to do more on your own. Take the questionnaire, but be mindful of what it is. Your life is worthy of more than "expedient and convenient" discourses. Honor yourself and seek your own light.

Yes, vikruti (or vikrti) is the current constitution, the way a person is out of balance from their natural or birth constitution, called prakruti (or prakrti). The vikrti helps show us what needs to be balanced to achieve optimal wellbeing.

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